Farid Karam Nassar, better known as Fredwreck, is a Palestinian American music artist and record producer. He has produced for many artists including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Britney Spears and Ice Cube. Fredwreck was part of the ‘STOP Movement’ an anti-war movement during the war in Iraq. He has also been described as the ‘Palestinian Ambassador’ to the rappers and champion of Palestinian human rights.
Could you tell us about your family and childhood?
I was born in Flint Michigan. My mom and dad came from Palestine. My mom is from Birzeit and my dad is from Ramle. My dad was a tool & die machinist at General Motors. He saved enough money working at GM to buy a small apartment building and bring his 7 brothers and sisters, their wives, all their children with my grandmother and grandfather to live in the US. So I basically grew up with all my family and cuzins. I consider my cuzins like my brothers and sisters and my aunties and uncles were more like my moms and dads. It was really nice growing up with a large family around.
When did you decide to pursue a career in music? Was your family supportive?
I decided to pursue a career in music at a very young age. I grew up in the era of hip hop. So all the elements of hip hop were part of my childhood. I started out breakdancing and then got into DJing and from there I started producing. My dad plays the Oud and the trumpet so at a young age I was always around music. But hip hop gave me a calling and thats what I knew I wanted to be. My family was supportive to a certain level. My mom took me to buy my first keyboard and drum machine, so she supported it as a hobby as long as I did good in school. But I dropped out of highschool and pursued my journey into music and the music business.
Please could you tell us about how you had your first break in the music Industry?
There wasn't one break I would say was the defining moment. It was more like a ladder of events. My first job was at a record store where I would sell my mix tapes, I submitted one of those tapes to the local radio station which landed me a job doing the weekend mix show. I used to make my own remixes of songs and play them during my mix show, and the program director ended up sending my mixes to other sister stations. Pretty soon I had record labels calling me to buy the mixes and thats kind of how it started. When artists would come by the radio station to promote their albums I would give them a tape of my beats. Pretty soon I would be in the studio with the artists producing songs on their albums, and turning right around and playing them on my mix show. I was also interning at recording studios and learning all the technical aspects of recording. I didnt even want to get paid, I just wanted to be in the studio tinkering around and experimenting and learning all the gear. So I got my engineering and production skills sharpened at a young age. Being a producer is more than just making beats. Being a producer is having the skill to bring the best out of people, whether its the engineers, artist, writers or musicians. I'm responsible for the final outcome so you really have to have your people skills right along with your technical and musicianship.
Who is the best music Artist you have ever worked with?
All of the artists I work with are the best, I only work with people that challenge and inspire me. But as a producer, Dr. Dre is probably the greatest experience in the studio. Because you really learn the extreme aspects of producing, creating and experimenting. He's the hardest working man I've ever seen in the studio. He really makes sure every minute element of the song is perfect, which reflects on his records. His artists and his records are some of the greatest and biggest of all time. Its a great honor to sit behind the boards with him and create. My other favorite to work with is Snoop, because he makes the creative process really fun, and it comes out in the music. He's another one of my greatest mentors and friends, and I always look forward to our sessions and projects together.
Who is the worst music artist you have worked with?
NO COMMENT
How has Hip pop changed since you entered the business?
Hip hop has always been a form of music that took elements of almost EVERY other form of music. I think hip hop is the only music that you can listen to that has incorporated every style. World music, funk, soul, country, rock, folk, classical even arabic has been used in hip hop. It was created to change, it will always be morphing into something else. Thats what makes it so fun and great. The only thing that has changed about it is the business and how revenue is created with it.
What do you think about the Trump’s presidency?
I think Trump is the most despicable, racist, bigoted, chauvinistic, scumbag buffoon to ever sit in the White House. But he didn't get there alone. Americans put him in that seat, so that tells you about America. There is a very dark and racist side to the United States and he tapped into those people and fed them what they wanted to hear for the vote. HATE & Fear Mongering. But as a student of history, we all know what happens to tyrants, and its never pretty. His fuckery is so mind boggling I don't even have enough words to describe it, so we got to support the voices of truth and reason when we can, and try to vote and not sit back and talk about it. Most importantly try and help and support people in your community especially the kids. He wont be here forever, but his ideology will never die. Love always triumphs over hate.
What do you think about the Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?
I think that Trump doesn't really care either way about Jerusalem. Its all for politics and to feed his financial supporters for the next election. They are zionists and evangelicals. He's completely surrounded by Zionists. His own daughter is married to a Zionist. A white girl from Manhattan exporting her husband, Kushner's, dogma to Palestine where they have no clue or sense of modern history. America has never been an honest broker for Palestinian peace. Thats all been a bunch of bullshit that they feed us to give us hope, while the truth on the ground is that the Israelis keep settling, oppressing and occupying. I don't believe in negotiations, as you can see all Palestinian negotiations have been futile. I believe everyone respects the gun. The only way for Israel and America to recognize Palestinians rights is by the same force they impose on us. Thats the only way, all of our so called Arab brothers have turned their back on us, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Oman, theyr'e all under US economic occupation, and honestly all they care about is money and the thrones they sit on. The Jerusalem embassy is just a building with a flag, it can be removed as fast as it was built.
